ACE Study Reveals Kettlebells Provide Powerful Workout in Short Amount of Time

SAN DIEGO (Feb. 9, 2010) — The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s leading authority on fitness and one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the world, today announced key findings from an exclusive study on the benefits of kettlebell workouts conducted with the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, through its exercise and health program. Results concluded that kettlebells provide a much higher-intensity workout than standard weight-training routines and offer superior results in a short amount of time.

“The use of kettlebells has grown immensely over the past few years, as they can offer a great bang for your buck when it comes to time spent exercising and quality of results,” says ACE’s Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D. “A person can easily burn several hundred calories in a brief period of time using these iron orbs, which makes them appealing to those looking for time-efficient results. Kettlebell-themed workouts and kettlebell-only gyms are popping up everywhere in order to cater to the high demand of this growing fitness trend.”

The study tested men and women between the ages of 29-46 years old and was led by John Porcari, Ph.D., and Chad Schnettler, M.S., both research experts at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse Exercise and Health Program. After establishing a baseline, the subjects continuously performed kettlebell snatches, quick lifts over the head, to a certain rhythm during a 20-minute period. In terms of calorie burning, these results are equivalent to running a six-minute mile pace, or cross-country skiing uphill at a fast pace.

Researchers credit the brisk calorie burning to the fact that the kettlebell snatch workout is a total-body movement performed in an interval-training fashion. Study participants were observed to achieve exercise heart rate that ranged from approximately 86 to 99 percent of maximum heart rate and 67 to 91 percent of maximum oxygen uptake, suggesting that the use of kettlebells provides a much higher-intensity workout than standard weightlifting.

“Overall, kettlebell use can produce remarkable results, which is what virtually all fitness enthusiasts look to get from their workouts,” Bryant continues. “Kettlebells not only offer resistance training benefits, they also will ultimately help people burn calories, lose weight, and enhance their functional performance capabilities.”

About American Council on ExerciseThe American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s premier certification, education and training organization, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of physical activity and protecting consumers against unsafe and ineffective fitness products and instruction. ACE sponsors university-based exercise science research and is the world’s largest nonprofit fitness certifying organization. For more information on ACE and its programs, call (800) 825-3636 or log onto the ACE Web site at www.acefitness.org.

About ACE

Founded in 1985, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) is a nonprofit organization committed to America's health and wellbeing. Over the past 25 years, we have become an established resource for both fitness professionals and consumers, providing comprehensive, unbiased, scientific research impacting the fitness industry and validating ourselves as the country's trusted authority on fitness.

Today, ACE is the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world with 55,000 certified professionals who hold more than 60,000 ACE certifications. With a long heritage in certification, education, training and public outreach, we are among the most respected fitness organizations in the industry and a resource consumers have come to trust for health and fitness education.